Fino's 58 Wagon

I do think about a crate engine - or just pulling this one and going through it, but that doesn't solve all the issues - especially concerns that it will always be mounted in a tough spot and that it might never cool properly....Besides, if my skills can't figure it out as is, there is no way a bigger project seems feasible - it would cost even more and take me years and years and I may not have much income or garage very soon.

 

you physically have to have a place to 'set it'....will definitely be moving out of this house temporarily in Dec but maybe back next summer...hopefully with it selling thereafter....No house, no parking - no parking no extra vehicles.....I've got a couple months, we'll see where it goes. As I am out of income in Aug, I might have to sell it just to help make it to Dec (wife hasn't worked in 2months) and the next job (which may be hit hard by C19 concerns as its travel and tourism related). Honestly, we are not in any financial straights - although we might be by next summer if this plan turns out bad - and its better to have nothing and be happy than to keep going to work that makes you miserable, although we might test that have nothing and be happy aspect more than we want. We have no kids, and I am ready to be seasonal and transient again - these things don't go well with owning project jeeps. I'd try to keep the cj5 in case after a few years we found a happy place to settle in for a while - or just for some summer adventures - I am not married to any of it - just my wife.

 

draft tube - wondering if I can (or should?) remove it and put a pcv in - but then I would need a connection to feedback in at the carb I think. It does have a valve breather on the left bank.

 

Correct - breather cap on the front of left VC with road draft tube....Its not environmentally friendly, but it should work to some extent as long as the breather and road draft tube are not plugged. From what I understand, the draft tube works better when the vehicle is moving as that creates low pressure outside that pulls air through the draft tube and and ventilates the crankcase (in theory at least), and typically without the vehicle moving at speed, it functionality decreases. But, possibly similar to some of your thoughts, I think there is quite a bit of positive crankcase pressure even with the vehicle is stopped and idling, there is significant exhausting coming from the draft tube (easily felt with hand or when we had some colder days you can see the stream of steam exiting from draft tube - it smells like fuel rich exhaust and some oil - but its not like its puffing blue smoke (at idle - at speed maybe its blue?)...I don't really know how much air/crankcase exhaust would normally be coming out at idle, so it hard for me to know how significant it is. If I understand correctly, the main way the crankcase would get pressurized to push air out the draft tube is through blow-by, and this could indicate a lot of blow-by?

So to kind of summarize some thoughts - and maybe recognize some missed possibilities:
1) There is no obvious leak pouring out oil when it idles at first start up - or even with idles warm after driving it around - there is oil dripping everywhere, but it seems to require higher oil pressure/rpm to really push it out. After a short drive around of even a few miles getting the rpms up, there ENTIRE underside of the drivetrain from the back of the block to the rear pumpkin is dripping oil.
2) Although the front of the block - front crankcase seal, front manifold seal, timing cover, front of valve covers all seem to seep/leak - its not catastrophic, its the kind that might put a couple drops down after sitting for a few hours or overnight - a kind of annoying leak but not necessarily my focus here with getting it driveable. Based on the somewhat minimal amount of oil on the front portion of the oil pan after test drives, this doesn't seem like the primary problem.
3) I believe the oil is engine oil and not gear oil. There is seep/leak of gear oil from the D18 (mostly around the pan gasket, but probably from the front and rear output seals as well) - but again this is the kind of standard, annoying, a few drips overnight issue. Using the 'smell' test - the oil that is leaking everywhere is engine oil and not gear oil (for the most part - although while the smells are distinct when fresh, my nose struggles with this). Its possible the T90 is leaking a lot out of either the front bearing retainer seal or the countershaft end - but I think that would end up in the bellhousing?
4) Another reason I think I am dealing with engine oil - the dipstick level. I did a complete oil change last fall, drove it about 50 miles total on a couple trips and I was down over a quart. Topped it off, then drove it around a couple times the last couple weeks - mostly for testing brakes etc - so talking maybe 10-20 miles and again I am down close to a quart. So, while the other drive train components are probably in need of rebuilds/reseals etc, its the loss of engine oil that is critical.
5) It does seemingly leak/seep from every possible seal/gasket - thus the idea of old dry seals (from a decade of being parked) and an over pressurized crankcase is likely, but is it plausible for the amount of oil loss seen?
6) For this much oil to be leaking, and from my observations crawling around under it when idling, the rpm/oil pressure needs to be up to drive the leak. So oil pressure line fitting is ideal for this situation - and I will do a closer inspection of that today once i get the distributor out (hopefully I can leave the carb in place as i don't want to deal with all the fiddly linkages - but access it tight with the firewall notch). I will lay-off pulling the intake manifold for now.....
7) The idea of completely worn rings and massive blow-by is also becoming more concerning and plausible....First and foremost, the engine oil has gasoline smell both on dipstick and and when I dropped the oil pan. There is what I think is a lot of sludge build-up on the crank and bearing caps (as well as on the valve covers and portions of the valve train). Although the amount of oil on the underside is beyond anything anyone would consider acceptable for use, a quart of oil is A LOT of volume - so where is it going. Is it blowing past the rings and going out the draft tube and coating the underside in the process?
8) I will pull the spark plugs (I pulled them last fall and only remember them looking a bit rich - so i put in slightly smaller main jets that are appropriate/recommended for over 5000' here in Denver).
10) I probably should have done a compression/leak down tests before making it inoperable - can that be done turning by hand in it current state?

okay - I think that is everything....how much effort is an old 283 worth (and by old I mean an early block that is a bit limited)? I guess I may have some additional free time (although maybe not cash) over the next few months. If there was ever a time to rebuild an engine or even try a swap, this could be it (happy to provide advertising space on it for any sponsors). The mods here have all volunteered their entire ecj5 salary for the remainder of the year to help.

 

here is the plugs....they aren't perfect, but nothing indicates a really bad problem. It ran hard at cruising speed for 10min and then sat and idled for 5+ minutes before I shut it down. Only #7 had some wet threads - smelled like bad gas as opposed to oil...the other ones could have had gas on them, but it might have evaporated if the valves were open? Its been sitting for 4 days since it ran.

 

Fuel pump diaphragm leaking would be the likely source for the gas smell in the oil.

 

that someone would be me....For an entirely separate realm of fun I pulled the intake manifold in the fall - twice - as when I first put it back in I broke the oil line fitting and didn't know it for a bit....The rear gasket seemed to work well, I had a lot more issue with the front one squeezing out when tightening down (its not pretty to look at).

I do have the distributor out now and checked stuff - there is a distributor gasket, from what I can feel with fingers the intake manifold gasket is there - no obvious blow outs or gaps - its probably not perfect, but its not pouring out oil - just seeping a bit. The oil line fitting (copper compression fitting with ferrule) is nice and snug - and again, it might be seeping, but its not broken off or something catastrophic. I'll get some pics...

replaced the pump last fall - its had an oil change right after....these new fuel pumps are pretty much junk, but basically it would have been bad right from the start - which is not impossible. I am thinking you could get gas in oil smell from lots of blowby?

yes - both - worse at the rear (the engine has a slight rake down to the rear, so the oil in the valve area drains to the back and puddles)

there was part of me hoping one might suggest a bad cylinder/piston ring/valve....at least the decision would be made

I think the biggest concern with the current 283 (1957) is that the heads don't have any of the common mounting locations found on later sbc. Currently a homemade bracket is used to combine the generator mount with the PS pump on the driver side...There are some good machine shops here, its just a big bullet to bite....

but along those lines...If this thing is just consuming massive amounts of oil and blowing it out the draft tube, then it either needs to be rebuilt or replaced....Some people like black wheels, some don't (neither... alloy is best)...some mount the ground plug up (REALLY?!!!) and some mount it down...so just food for thought: better to rebuild this 283 or just replace with a crate engine (350)? I feel like this could get ugly.........I've got the time, but maybe not the money.....My biggest concern would be which option is most reliable for the money - and will it stay cool if mounted the same (electric fan set-up on an alternator most likely?).

I am going to drink a whiskey and think about it, but my plan is to continue to clean up the grud/mease/mud and grease combo that covers everything (its an inch thick and when it gets hot, I think it liquefies and drips lots of oil), put it back together as is, take it down to the u-wash-it with some powerful degreaser and go at it again (probably blowing water into the T90/D18 breathers etc) and then do a compression and leak down test and monitor oil loss closely while driving it a bit....Maybe get my wife to follow/video it from behind on the road to see if its puking out blue smoke from either the exhaust or draft tube....

 

Blowby would/should smell just like your exhaust.